Thursday night NBA and we will see the Dallas Mavericks travel to Chesapeake Energy Arena to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The game has a start time of 8:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Current Vegas betting odds have Oklahoma City listed as 5 point favorites, while the total is set at 212.
Analysis: The Dallas Mavericks look to start their post All-Star break portion of their schedule with their 4th consecutive win over the Thunder. Dallas comes in with a solid 36-19 record on the year, but still in the very tough Western Conference that is good enough for a 5th seed if the playoffs started today. Dallas has gone 17-5-1 ATS in the last 23 meetings in Oklahoma City and 67-32 ATS in their last 99 road games, but just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. The Mavericks have been a very good offensive team this year, ranking 3rd in scoring (106.3 ppg), 6th in shooting, 11th in 3 point shooting and 15th in FT shooting. The defense for this team has not been that good as they come in ranked 23rd in points allowed (101.0 ppg), 13th in defensive FG% and 16th in 3 point defense.
The Oklahoma City were to be serious contenders for the NBA Title this year, and they still might be, but injuries and inconsistent play has this team on the outside looking in of the playoffs. The Thunder did win their last 3 games before the break to pull within a half a game of Phoenix for the 8th playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Thunder have gone 23-5-1 ATS in their last 29 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 3 or more days rest. Oklahoma City has been an average offensive team this year, ranking 13th in scoring (100.7 ppg), 21st in shooting, 25th in 3 point shooting and 17th in FT shooting. Defensively the Thunder have been decent this year, ranking 11th in points allowed (98.8 ppg), 2nd in defensive FG% and 8th in 3 point defense.
Pick: Going with the rust factor here and look to the Under. Both teams have been off for a week and that should lead to some rusty offense. I know that Westbrook scored 41 in the All-Star game but still most of the other players on both teams have been off for a while. The Thunder hasn't been great on offense this year, but they have played very good defense at home where they have allowed just 95.8 ppg. and Dallas hasn't been terrible on the road allowing just 100.3 ppg away from home. The Mavericks have score 102.6 ppg in their last 5 games, while the Thunder have put up 115 ppg in their last 5, but I really am not looking for more than 105 from either team in this one.
-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for CBB Season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!
Handicapping Tips: NBA Betting
Bryan Leonard and Steve Fezzik, from Pregame.com discuss some handicapping tips for betting the NBA.